Target Shooting (Advice wanted)

[nijalninja]

G'day there. It seems I may know how to strip and clean my rifles and service them well enough but I am a terrible shot, and that is not ideal considering I would like to do more target shooting in the future (Mostly in military classes), and I know there are some good shooters in here with plenty to say so I am wondering if anyone has any tips or books or sites or videos or etc etc about being a more competent shooter, both on the range and in the bush (But mostly on the range).

I'm not that old but I already have bad habits like flinching and not declaring targets which are hard to break as it stands. Anyway, I'm up for criticism and advice if anyone wants to lend their experience and two cents worth into it. Cheers.

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[Daan Kemp]

1. Join a shooting club
2. Find out who are the good rifle shooters.
3. Ask their advice.
4. Follow their advice.
5. Practice.
6. Start with 2 again.
7. Repeat until they come to you for advice.

[CINDERS]

My advice follows the above with a few exceptions get to know people there in the club you will usually spot the good shooters by their consistent good scores though anyone can have off days they are normally quiet types who go about the business and usually just say they were lucky getting a good score but to do it week in week out takes skill at arms.
We have an 80 y/o who shoots optical but also service rifle and more often than not is up the front of the pack, when plied for information on his scores he just says one of two things; "I had a forgiving rifle today." or "I had forgiving ammunition today." and thats it.
Don't shoot yourself in the foot once you get on board and they are helping by saying well I read this and that what works for some may not work for everybody you have to learn from them and if need be modify it to suit your style.
Also every club has one a yap yap who not only built the Ark but rescued Helen of Troy with one arm, they just bluff their way around mesmerizing the neophytes with their boundless theories on why your not getting good scores, proper tuition involves discipline and understanding the fundamentals of what makes up a good shooter and cultivating it within the shooter everything has to be consistent & repeatable in your actions.
Books whilst they can give you the basics in the end its what you gain from practical shooting that will move you along if you have a bad shot understand why it was bad and move on from it I just say well they are all in the black just one decided he did not want to be with the group!

The flinch is a harder one to get rid of only shooting and practicing will you over come this thing I still struggle with it at times after being belted around by hard kickers like the 444 Marlin I owned along with shooting my mates 300 & 460 Weatherby Magnums, the trigger break when the sight picture is correct should be a complete surprise to you

[WarPig1976]

I've found holding the gun sideways and sort of throwing the bullets at the target with each shot has greatly improved my accuracy and street credentials. Before I just sprayed and prayed and just wound up hitting everything but the target.

[Ovidio]

For the flinching, I had a great improvement after picking up handguns again.
That really forces you to have a perfect trigger pull. Once you get it there, on the rifle it should be easy peasy.
Just my experience.

[zimbabwae-ed]

Get a .22 cal. rifle that is similar to your high power rifle. Shoot it frequently to cure your flinching habit. Shoot in .22 rifle matches.

[no4mk1t]

There were some good suggestions above.
Start with a good 22 rifle with aperture sights. One with a good trigger would also be nice.

Use good ammo that is accurate in the rifle you will use. Using cheap ammo is satisfying to your wallet, but frustrating to your efforts to improve. It doesn't have to be Eley 10X, but here, some of the affordable ammo that shoots well is Wolf Match Target, CCI Standard Velocity, and a few others. Not sure what is available in Oz, but ask the ask the rimfire target shooters at your local club for recommendations.

Blacken the front sight so there is no glare reflecting off of it. Acetylene smoke will produced the flatest black possible. The are commercial sight smokers on the market, or you can use an antique miners carbide lamp. After you blacken it, take an ordinary #2 pencil and draw a line diagonally across the face of the front sight blade. This line will be visible when you look through the sights if you are focusing on the front sight. If you are looking at the target, the line will not be detectable.

When looking through the sights, focus your vision sharply on the front site. This is something new shooters have difficulty with as the target is what they are shooting at, and it seems natural to focus on it. This takes a bit of doing until you have trained yourself to pull back your focus to the front sight. If there is a speck of dust on the front sight you should be able to see it. That's how sharp your focus should be.

You will need to practice two different trigger techniques.
For shooting from a supported position, place the tip of your finger on the trigger. Do not use the first joint. Use the part of your finger where the center of the circular part of your finger print is. When your sights are aligned properly, gradually increase the pressure while maintaining sight alignment until the rifle fires. You want the moment the rifle fires to be a surprise to you. Yes, you know it's going to fire, but the exact moment it does should be unknown. If you do it right, you can't flinch because you don't know when to flinch.

For standing, do the same as for supported, with one exception. Because you can't hold the rifle perfectly still, you can't use the gradual method of pressing the trigger. The rifle will drift off center right when it fires. Instead, learn the trigger to be able to apply about half the necessary pressure needed to fire the rifle. After establishing your Natural Point of Aim, (NPA) you will notice that the rifle is impossible to hold perfectly still, but it will occasionally "hover" for just a moment in the center of the target. When you see this happen, you have to instantly press the trigger very quickly before the sight drifts away from center. This takes a lot of practice, and success will not be instant, but you will gradually improve.

Now all of this is a brief overview. If you want to know more, like how to find your NPA, we can get into that too.
If you have a local club, inquire if they hold any shooting clinics. This is where coaches provide individual instruction on the range and you get to apply the lesson learned right then and there.

[nijalninja]

Thanks for the detailed advice and experience everyone. Joining a shooting club is a tad hard for me since I'm out a ways from a range and if I have to drive there at night then I'll probably nail at least one roo. However, I have all the room on the farm I work on to practice (Which is why I was hoping for advice about things that I can do on my own), but even then I could probably find some good shooters who would be willing to help me out; Next best I reckon.

My flinch seems to occur when I pick up anything bigger than a .22 or .22 Hornet. I can bang away all day on a .22 and never flinch but that is not impressive. However, for many years a .22 has just been a crow gun to me which all it has to do is hit a crow at 50 yards and thats it, I've never used one simply to push for as much accuracy as I can and it is something I will try now that it has been mentioned.

No4MkIT, I know of the trick with blackening front sights but I did not know that they should be the point of focus over the target, but I suppose focusing on the sights more could also take away the stress of "This is the target and I have to hit it" of being fixated on it. Also I used to shoot with the 'surprise' technique' as you have mentioned but I thought it was always just me being unexperienced so I tried other things that never worked, hence I am asking here haha. Yeah standing shooting I am half decent at but I never thought much about such as thing as Natural Point of Aim but it makes a lot of sense (Natural things and concepts like this are exactly what I was after).

Before this my knowledge of accurate shooting was limited to: "Do every shot the same way every time" which was great unless I was up the paddock and had to adapt to a new position. You guys have given me some basics and concepts so I guess I have to go out and practice them now, and meet shooters who don't mind sharing their secrets haha. Anymore advice is also welcome. Thanks everyone.

[no4mk1t]

No4MkIT, I know of the trick with blackening front sights but I did not know that they should be the point of focus over the target, but I suppose focusing on the sights more could also take away the stress of "This is the target and I have to hit it" of being fixated on it. Also I used to shoot with the 'surprise' technique' as you have mentioned but I thought it was always just me being unexperienced so I tried other things that never worked, hence I am asking here haha. Yeah standing shooting I am half decent at but I never thought much about such as thing as Natural Point of Aim but it makes a lot of sense (Natural things and concepts like this are exactly what I was after).

Not focusing on the front sight is the root of your difficulties. Black the sights and draw the pencil mark thereon, and give it a go. I think you will see an immediate improvement. The pencil mark helps you to remember to pull your focus back. If you see the pencil mark, you are good to go, if you can't see it, that's a reminder to focus hard on the front sight.
Please report back on your results when you have had a chance to apply this. Try not to giggle, it's unbecoming of a true marksman.

Natural Point of Aim is a lesson in itself. When you have absorbed the front sight technique and are ready, ask, and ye shall receive.

[Patrick Chadwick]

You have received some good advice, and will doubtless receive more. I would like to add my opinion that. for target shooting, the most important single aspect is consistency. A good group means hitting almost in the same point every time. Apart from sheer flukes, that will only be achieved by the best possible consistency in all aspects.

So if you get the best results by standing on your head while whistling "Waltzing Matilda" backwards, then do that every time. There are, however, better ways of improving your grouping.

RSM Kilpatrick, the stern but patient gentleman who spent some time teaching me how to shoot well, put it very succinctly:

"If ye canna group ye canna shoot!"

I don't know if they still make Scottish RSMs like that anymore. I hope so. He taught me to shoot practice groups without checking the target in between - for the good reason that if you do, it is easy to fall into the trap of "chasing the zero" by fiddling endlessly with the sights and unconsciously correcting "last shot was a trifle low, so I'd better hold up a smidgeon for the next shot - oops now it's over the black..."

- ammo, of course! Flinching is hard to "unlearn" with full-bore rifles. Since the vast majority of target shoots are at 300m or less, it is an unnecessary stress on your rifle and your body to use loads that were intended for military rifles up to 2000 yards. As a target-shooting beginner, look for the mildest safe load for your rifle.

- position - when prone with legs spread, legs crossed, one knee forwards ... do not mix!

- hold - stock pulled back hard into shoulder, or just firmly, or slightly loose, sling just above elbow, or high up ... do not mix!

- light (for instance, on a day with frequent clouds crossing the sun, either take every shot in full sunlight, or every shot while a cloud is passing over (may be easier on the eyes for a long sequence) but do not mix them!

- type of aim: 6 o'clock hold (very light sensitive) central...

- focus on foresight (note, if you aim for too long, the vision tends to get "captured" by the target), not sometimes foresight, sometimes target...

- breathing - keep regular, release trigger always at the same point in breathing cycle.

- allow sufficient recovery time between shots. Do not stare at the target. Close your eyes for at least 10 secs. This aids consistent breathing and reduces eye strain.

- trigger release. I know it is difficult to achieve that "surprise" effect of a shot release with a full-bore rifle. But the nearer you can get, the better.

The aim is to acquire a set of habits that aid shooting in a steady rhythm. The best target I ever shot as a cadet was made in an almost Zen-like trance. In fact, I recommend reading about Japanes Zen archery as a pointer to the state of body and mind that will also help you to achieve good grouping.

And when the grouping is good enough - then you can adjust the sights to taste!